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Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar is ill and has been flown to London, UK for treatment.
SaharaReporters learned exclusively on Sunday that Atiku flew from Dubai, United Arab Emirates to the United Kingdom.
This comes less than two months before the presidential elections that are scheduled for February 25, 2023.
“Atiku is not feeling well; he is in the hospital receiving treatment,” a source from the PDP Presidential Campaign Council told SaharaReporters on Sunday.
“That is why he is not back in Nigeria for the presidential campaign. She was in Dubai but now she left Dubai for London for treatment. He has been transferred to the UK for treatment. That is why he is still abroad.
However, SaharaReporters was unable to confirm the nature of Atiku's ailment.
Last year, Atiku also visited Europe and at the end of his European trip, the PDP presidential candidate visited Dubai.
The trip came about three weeks after Atiku met Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike in London.
A statement issued by Paul Ibe, his media adviser, said the trip was a follow-up to an earlier business trip taken three weeks earlier.
“He will travel immediately after his meeting on Friday in Lagos, with the leadership of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) together with the PDP vice-presidential candidate, Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta,” the statement read.
“Today's trip is the continuation of a previous business trip from three weeks ago.
“At the conclusion of his European tour, the former vice president will also take the opportunity to visit his family in Dubai.
"His trip is for business and family reasons and has nothing to do with doctors, as is suggested in some quarters."
Atiku is known to spend most of his time in Dubai. For example, he went to Dubai after the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Muhammadu Buhari the winner of the 2019 presidential election.
The PDP presidential candidate was absent from the press conference prior to the Atiku Freedom March held for him at the Nigerian Journalists Union State Secretariat, Iyaganku, Ibadan, last Tuesday.
The press conference was jointly led by a former Federal Capital Territory (State) Minister, Jumoke Akinjide; the former Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Wole Oyelese; the former deputy governor of the state, Alhaji Hazeem Gbolarumi, and another head of the PPD, the engineer Femi Babalola.
The Freedom March was held last Wednesday in Ibadan, the state capital.
In July 2022, Atiku reacted to a viral video on social media that suggested he was ill, saying he was in good health.
A viral video showed Atiku limping during his return to Nigeria ahead of the Osun state gubernatorial election.
But his media aide, Ibe, dismissed the claims, saying nothing could be further from the truth.
A statement issued by Ibe read in part: "Our attention has been drawn to a report and video in a section of the media purporting to be of a 'sick' Atiku Abubakar being helped by an attendant to strap into a seatbelt. of your car."
"Nothing could be further from the truth. For the record, the People's Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate is in good health."
“Normally we would not have responded to this prank, were it not for the impression it will create in the minds of Nigerians, which is exactly the purveyors of these fake news aim.
"We wish to affirm that Atiku is not averse to scrutiny due to the consequential nature of the 2023 election. However, our position is that such scrutiny should not be based on dishonest slash-and-burn journalism as is the case with this contrived reporting." .
Also in October 2022, PDP Presidential Campaign Management Committee spokesman Dino Melaye released a video showing Atiku dining in Europe to dispel reports that its director was ill.
Atiku had left Nigeria in the midst of campaigning for the 2023 presidential election.
In a tweet, a former aviation minister, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, earlier alleged that Atiku collapsed after arriving in Abuja from his rally in Kaduna state.
He said Atiku was flown to Paris, France, for medical attention after complaining of pain throughout his body.
“After his outing in Kaduna yesterday @atiku got sick. He complained of dizziness and severe pain in his head and throughout his body during the flight to Abuja. After landing at the Abuja airport he collapsed. He was airlifted to Paris for immediate medical attention. God be with him. For damage control purposes, they took photos of him with others the next morning from Paris, but don't be fooled.
“There is something very wrong with the PDP presidential candidate in terms of his health and they don't want the Nigerian public to know about it. Pray for him,” he wrote.
But Melaye responded to Fani-Kayode, saying: “Look at the person who says they are in the hospital. Does this place look like a hospital? The one here likes his food, relaxes, has fun, holds meetings and you say….mehn! God go help people wey... stomach infrastructure is not a problem oo, hunger is not a problem oo, let God provide for our needs, it's ok”.
Fani-Kayode is the Director of New Media for the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council.
Credit: https://saharareporters.com/2023/01/08/exclusive-pdp-presidential-candidate-atiku-sick-flown-london-dubai-medical-treatment
Phrank Shaibu, an aide to Atiku Abubakar, the Peoples' Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate, has attacked Rivers Governor Nyesom Wike for criticizing his director.
On Monday, while speaking at Rivers, Wike he said there is "something fundamentally wrong" if Abubakar cannot win the support of former president Olusegun Obasanjo.
Obasanjo had in a letter to Nigerians on Sunday declared his support for Peter Obi, the Labor Party's (LP) presidential candidate, ahead of the presidential election.
In a statement Tuesday, Shaibu, who is Abubakar's special assistant for public communication, said Obasanjo's endorsement does not translate into fitness for the post of president.
He said Wike is "desperately trying to amuse Nigerians" every day "because he lost the primary and also failed to emerge as the Peoples Democratic Party's vice-presidential candidate."
Shaibu said Obasanjo's endorsement of Obi does not mean Abubakar is unfit to be president.
“Following Wike's faulty logic, President Uhuru Kenyatta's refusal to support his vice president, William Ruto, meant that Ruto was unfit for office. The great people of Kenya, however, do not think flawed like Wike,” he said.
“What Wike failed to acknowledge is that Atiku remains the only former vice president in Nigerian history to have been publicly endorsed by his director and this happened in 2019 when Obasanjo decided to endorse him.
“When did the lack of support from a former president translate into the suitability of a position?
Credit: https://www.thecable.ng/obasanjos-endorsement-not-yardstick-for-being-president-atikus-aide-replies-wikePeoples' Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar has rebuked Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike for claiming his (Atiku's) boss and former president Olusegun Obasanjo had a problem with him (Atiku). and therefore failed to support his presidential candidacy.
Speaking through Phrank Shaibu, his special assistant for public communication for the 2023 general election, Atiku described Wike's comment about Obasanjo's endorsement of Peter Obi as a meaningless gaffe, adding that President Muhammadu Buhari was also not he endorsed his "loyal" deputy, Yemi Osinbajo for president during the All Progressives Congress presidential primaries.
Wike had mocked Atiku for being sidelined by his former boss, Obasanjo, to back Labor Party presidential candidate Obi.
Reacting to Governor Wike's reported derision, Shaibu described the border of PDP G-5 governors as "a hot-tempered man acting foolishly."
According to him, in a statement made available to journalists in Abuja, Shaibu said: "This perhaps explains why a governor who was once a shining light in his party has cast caution aside and become a laughing stock." .
He stated that "If you want to understand the true meaning of bitterness and anger, watch our beloved Governor Wike every time he spends taxpayer money on his live broadcasts. At every event, he comes up with new episodes of dramatic performances." What is common to all his acts is that his vile verbiage and inordinate invective are symptoms of a pathetically disruptive mind with a deep character flaw.
"In his latest attempt to mock Waziri Atiku Abubakar after former President Olusegun Obasanjo decided to endorse former Governor Peter Obi, Wike shot himself in the foot again.
"According to the cantankerous and talkative governor, Obasanjo's decision to support Obi is evidence that Atiku is unfit for the presidency.
"Following Wike's faulty logic, President Uhuru Kenyatta's refusal to support his vice president, William Ruto, meant Ruto was unfit for office. However, the great people of Kenya do not think faultily like Wike.
"Even in Nigeria, President Muhammadu Buhari did not support Vice President Yemi Osinbajo even though Osinbajo had served as acting president for more than five months when Buhari was on a medical vacation in London.
"If we move him closer to Rivers State, it means Wike's assistant is incompetent, hence his decision to name Siminialayi Fubara as his successor. In fact, Wike's domineering attitude has made his assistant redundant, so no one knows who she is."
"What Wike failed to acknowledge during his latest tirade is that Atiku remains the only former vice president in Nigerian history to have been publicly endorsed by his director and this happened in 2019 when Obasanjo decided to endorse him.
"On the other hand, no one finds Wike worthy of wielding presidential power, not even his predecessors. Instead of trying to repair his damaged reputation, he continues to cry over spilled milk.
"When did the lack of support from a former president translate into the suitability of a position?
"Finally, let me say that our proper conduct belongs to us: it is not dictated by someone being rude to us. We will hit back if necessary, but GOD forbid we ever descend to the level of the gutter that some people live in.
"Wike really needs to grow up and respect the position he holds."
Credit: https://saharareporters.com/2023/01/04/buhari-didnt-support-his-loyal-deputy-osinbajo-president-so-nothing-special-obasanjo
The campaign team of People's Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar on Tuesday compared recent outbursts by Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike to the whimpering of a baby torn from its mother's breast.
This was contained in a statement from Atiku Abubakar's special assistant for public communication, Phrank Shaibu.
He added that Wike dances like a village masquerade on live TV, entertaining Nigerians with his boring jokes.
“Her (Nyesom Wike) constant crying is like the whimpering of a baby, taken from its mother's breast. Wike's cacophonous scream of pain and inconsolable beating will never end, even if he puts his proverbial breast back in his mouth,” the statement read in part.
In recent months, Atiku and Wike have been at odds after the latter lost the party's presidential bid to the former.
Credit: https://dailypost.ng/2023/01/04/2023-your-constant-outbursts-similar-to-crying-infant-taken-from-mothers-breast-atiku-replies-wike/
The Peoples' Democratic Party (PDP) Presidential Campaign office has accused Rivers Governor Nyesom Wike of acting like a failed Tik Tok comedian in the way he has been criticizing the party's candidate, Atiku Abubakar.
The campaign organization said this while reacting to Wike's comments about former Chairman Olusegun Obasanjo's endorsement of Labor's Peter Obi.
Wike had mocked Atiku for failing to get Obasanjo, who was his director when he was Nigeria's vice president, to back his 2023 presidential ambition.
Rivers State Governor, who heads a group of five PDP governors opposing Atiku's presidential ambition under a coalition called the G5, criticized Atiku, who defeated him in the battle for the party's presidential nomination.
But as if the Atiku Campaign were saying 'enough is enough', in a statement labeled: "Wike's senseless blunder," said Wike, who he says was once a shining light in the PDP party has become a laughingstock.
In the statement written by Phrank Shaibu, Atiku's special assistant for public communication, Phrank Shaibu, the campaign organization said that Wike dances like a village masquerade on live TV every day with the same boring movements in his criticism of Atiku.
“He acts like a failed Tik Tok comedian desperately trying to amuse Nigerians with the same platitudes just because he lost the primary and also failed to emerge as the PDP vice-presidential candidate,” Atiku Campaign said in the statement citing Proverbs. 14:17 in the Holy Bible.
“His constant crying is like the whimpering of a child being taken from its mother's breast. Wike's cacophonous scream of pain and inconsolable beating will never end even if he puts his proverbial chest in his mouth again,” the PDP candidate's campaign said.
“At each turn of events, the Atiku campaign maintained that Wike presents new episodes of his dramatic performances, noting that what is common to all his acts is that his vile verbiage and intemperate rants are symptomatic of a pathetically disturbing mind with a deep character. flaw.
“In his latest attempt to mock Waziri Atiku Abubakar after former President Olusegun Obasanjo decided to endorse former Governor Peter Obi, Wike shot himself in the foot again.
“According to the cantankerous and talkative governor, Obasanjo's decision to support Obi is evidence that Atiku is unfit for the presidency.
“Following Wike's faulty logic, President Uhuru Kenyatta's refusal to support his vice president, William Ruto, meant that Ruto was unfit for office. The great people of Kenya, however, do not think flawed like Wike," Atiku's office said.
He also pointed out that President Muhammadu Buhari did not support Vice President Yemi Osinbajo to be his successor.
“If we move him closer to Rivers State, it means Wike's deputy is incompetent, hence his decision to name Siminialayi Fubara, as his successor. In fact, Wike's domineering attitude has made her deputy redundant, so no one knows who she is.
Contrary to Wike's claim, the Campaign Organization for Atiku was publicly endorsed by its director in 2019 when Obasanjo decided to endorse him.
“When did the lack of support from a former president translate into the suitability of a position?
“Finally, let me say that our decorous behavior belongs to us, it is not dictated by someone being rude to us. We'll hit back if we have to, but God forbid we ever get down to the level of the ditch some people live in. Wike really needs to grow up and respect the position he holds,” the PDP presidential candidate's office stated.
Credit: https://pmnewsnigeria.com/2023/01/04/youre-acting-like-a-failed-tik-tok-comedian-atiku-campaign-bombs-wike/From Tony John, Port Harcourt
rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike has challenged those threatening to oust him from the Peoples' Democratic Party (PDP) to go ahead and try if they can.
Governor Wike delivered the challenge at the Eneka Road roundabout, site of the groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of the Eneka-Igbo Etche Road dualization project on Friday. However, Governor Wike, who insisted that he was not fazed by the threat of expulsion, wondered why those who wished to expel him showed anxiety instead of posing the threat of him and seeing if they survived. According to him, "when the time comes, we will know who has the capacity and who does not have the capacity."
The Rivers State Governor also reiterated the G-5 members' minimum demand, which is the resignation of Iyorchia Ayu as PDP national chair to allow a southerner to take office.
“We have made our demand and our demand is that the national president must come to the South. It is not negotiable. If you say you don't care, no problem. Let's go to the Country. There's no need to start threatening people, you'll do this, you'll do that."
In retrospect, Governor Wike recalled how in 2002-2003 former President Olusegun Obasanjo knelt down to plead with his then deputy, now PDP presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar, to support his second term and the conditions it gave him.
“You say that we are giving conditions, but you forget about the story. In 2002-2003, when President Olusegun Obasanjo wanted to run for a second term, he knelt before his Vice President and said to my Vice President, please allow me to run. You know one of the conditions that he gave you, Tony Anenih must be fired as Minister of Works and Tony Anenih must not be on the presidential campaign council. Obasanjo complied and fired Tony Anenih as Minister of Public Works and removed him from the presidential campaign council. He expressed surprise at the undying interest of those who said they had moved on and didn't need the G-5 group to win the 2023 election. Wike wondered why opponents of G-5 governors were always snooping around to find out any recent moves. of the group.
“What's your problem assuming there was a meeting? Atiku has not been holding meetings with the APC governors? Ask him. Since he is in Dubai, we don't know what's going on? So why do you care about us, G-5, that you say you can win without us? Leave us alone."
He also clashed with Uche Secondus, the former national chairman of the PDP, who claimed that he is his benefactor and said that it was a lie.
Credit: https://www.sunnewsonline.com/wike-to-pdp-expel-me-if-you-can/
Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike challenged the Peoples' Democratic Party, PDP, to oust him and face the consequences.
Wike threw down the gauntlet while marking a new road in Rivers State.
He said: “In 2003, when President Olusegun Obasanjo wanted to run for a second term, every president wanted to run for a second term, he knelt before his vice and said, 'my vice, please allow me to run.'
“Do you know one of the conditions he gave her? That Tony Anenih should be fired as Minister of Public Works and that Tony Anenih should not be on the presidential campaign council. Obasanjo complied and fired Tony Anenih as Minister of Public Works and removed him from the presidential campaign council. This is a president[and] his own vice giving him condition; a retired general knelt down and was given terms.
“We (G5) are not even doing that; we're not saying loot this one; We only say that the constitution of our party must be respected based on what the national president said and based on what you told me at home.”
The governor then challenged the Peoples' Democratic Party, PDP, to expel him from the party, saying "try to see how you will survive."
Credit: https://dailypost.ng/2022/12/30/expel-me-see-if-you-will-survive-wike-dares-pdp/
As Nigerians await Governor Nyesom Wike's decision from the Rivers State-led G5 governors on the choice of a presidential candidate, former Senator Shehu Sani suggested whom they should support.
Sani suggested that the governors of the Peoples' Democratic Party, PDP, should back the "devil" they know.
The Wike-led group is against PDP presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar over the pattern of zoning in the party.
The group, which has refused to campaign for Atiku, said the North cannot present the presidential standard-bearer or the national president.
The G-5 group, made up of governors from Benue, Oyo, Enugu, Abia and Rivers State, demanded the resignation of Iyorchia Ayu as PDP national chairman.
Wike, who was aggrieved after losing to Atiku, said the G-5 wants the position of the party's national chairman to be zoned to the southern part of the country.
However, Sani wrote in a tweet: "G-5 Governors should stand behind the 'devil' they know and not...
“The nation has been blessed with presidential candidates with democratic credentials and a record of tolerance of political criticism, political opposition, and political dissent. We don't need an autocrat allergic and hostile to different opinion."
Credit: https://dailypost.ng/2022/12/28/2023-presidency-shehu-sani-tells-wike-led-g5-govs-candidate-to-endorse/
As speculation and permutations continue about the presidential candidate that the governors of the G-5, also known as the Integrity Group, will endorse for the 2023 presidency, a former Rivers State commissioner has said that three of the five governors have endorsed Peter Obi. .
Obi is the Labor Party's candidate for the 2023 presidential election.
Bola Tinubu, Atiku Abubakar and Rabiu Kwankwaso are the presidential candidates of the All Progressives Congress, the People's Democratic Party and the New Nigeria People's Party respectively.
Meanwhile, the five dissident PDP governors, led by Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State, expressed their willingness to support a candidate from the southern part of the country, believing that a southerner should succeed President Muhammadu Buhari, a northerner, that he would have spent eight years in office by 2023.
This puts Tinubu and Obi first for the endorsement of the G5 Governors, namely Wike, Seyi Makinde from Oyo State, Samuel Ortom from Benue State, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi from Enugu State and Okezie Ikpeazu from from Abia.
Ortom recently endorsed Obi in his state.
Better known as the G5, PDP governors currently meeting in London to reach a joint decision before next year's elections have taken up arms against their party for truncating the zoning deal for political office.
The Nigerian News Agency reports that a former Rivers commissioner, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the agency that three of the governors have backed Obi from the Labor Party, adding that their agitation was for power to be shifted. to the south in accordance with the Declaration of Lagos by the governors of the south.
The source said that while three of the five governors are convinced by Obi's records, the other two are concerned about their political survival.
The former commissioner said: “You know that the presidential pageant is like a beauty pageant, where only registered participants are considered. The G5 governors agree that Obi is not a saint, but he comes with fresher features than the other candidates.
“It was these contrasting qualities, plus the Muslim-Muslim ticket, in the first place that drew a massive following among the main electoral demographic, youth, across the country for Obi.
“So, I can tell you with authority, the three governors who support Obi state that although APC has spread, it would be disastrous and suicidal if they support Tinubu with (an) awkward ticket against his people, most of whom are in favor of Obi. .
"Therefore, the three governors are aware of the Electoral Law of 2022 and the enormous powers and independence that it has granted to the electorate."
Regarding Wike's position, the former commissioner pointed out that Governor Rivers is aware that all politics is local. "Wike is not entirely against Asiwaju (Tinubu), but he is deeply concerned about how his political detractors in the state would react if he slips up."
Credit: https://saharareporters.com/2022/12/29/why-three-g-5-pdp-governors-are-backing-peter-obi-presidency-former-rivers-commissioner
From Tony John, Port Harcourt
Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike has told those who said Nigeria is not ripe for a Muslim-Muslim ticket not to justify efforts by the People's Democratic Party (PDP) to retain the presidency in the north and embrace.
He spoke yesterday at the special dedication service for the Rivers State PDP 2023 General Election Campaigns Rallies, at St. Paul's Anglican Church, Port Harcourt.
Governor Wike urged those who condemn the APC's Muslim-Muslim ticket as wrong to also know that it was wrong to keep the presidency in the north after President Muhammadu Buhari.
“You capitalize on people's intelligence; you say Nigeria is not ripe for a muslim muslim ticket, i agree. But is Nigeria ripe for the presidency to stay in one zone? I mean, just look at the insult. You blow hot and cold. Most of you just sit there, not asking yourself any questions. Someone keeps selling cheap ideas like this. You're not asking the person, I agree with what you're saying, but look what we're saying here. Your party wants the presidency to go to the same zone where President Muhammadu Buhari comes from. Who is cheating who?"
He reminded the Church of the need to participate in the voting process for next year's polls. However, he pleaded for caution and opposing those politicians who come to mobilize them as if there was a religious war to be waged.
He also warned that his administration would not allow those who in the past incited wanton destruction of life and property in the state under the guise of politics to repeat the same.
He appealed to members of the PDP in the state to oppose the deliberate attempt by some disgruntled and petty politicians to provoke them ahead of the election.
He described the claim by Abiye Sekibo and some of his associates that the state government had recently sent thugs to attack them as ridiculous and cheap blackmail.
Wike stated that he has never engaged in political violence in his entire political career, and advised those who would plan to plunge the state into chaos to think again.
He said the reason Sekibo and his associates begrudged him was because he did not support their ambition to get the PDP governorship ticket.
